The invention herein is directed to an assembly for collecting body fluid and storing the collected body fluid. The assembly provides the inhibition of microbial growth in the collected body fluid. More particularly, the invention herein is directed to an assembly for collecting body fluids, such as urine, and for inhibiting or killing microbes which can be present in the collected body fluid by creating a bacteristatic or bactericidal presence in the collected body fluid.
In the medical field, there are many devices which are can used to collect body fluids from a patient. Such devices include urinary drainage bags, suction canisters, ostomy bags, wound drainage reservoirs, and the like. The presence of collected body fluids in such containers creates an environment especially adapted for bacterial growth. The collected body fluid provides a media for the growth of microbes, such as bacteria. Microbial growth in collected body fluid is undesirable as the presence of microorganisms can lead to infection of the patient or can lead to infection of other patients through transfer of the microbes by cross contamination and nosocomial infections. Body fluids which enter a collection device can be contaminated with microbes due to a patient's infection prior to collection. For example, some patients which have urinary tract infection can pass urine with a high bacterial load into the drainage bag. Such bacterial loads can be as great as 10.sup.5 counts per milliliter. In patients not having a pre-infection, fluids collected are generally essentially sterile. However, the collection device can become contaminated during emptying or while sampling through the sampling or emptying ports provided on the collection device due to touch or aerosol contamination. During such procedures, a cross-contamination of urinary drainage bags can occur and thereby increase the risk of nosocomial infections to both patients and nurses. The presence of nosocomial infection increases hospital costs by lengthening average patient stays, by increasing amounts of antimicrobial prophylaxis used, and by increasing laboratory diagnostic testing of affected patients. Bacterial infections are also undesirable as they can lead to patient discomfort, additional patient treatment, additional illness, and in same instances, death.
It would, therefore, be desirable to provide an assembly for collecting body fluids from a patient which would provide an inhibition and/or killing of microbes which can be present in the collected fluid within the assembly. It would be desirable to provide an assembly which would have an inhibiting or killing effect on microbes in the collected body fluid, regardless of whether such microbes entered the collection reservoir in the body fluid or through contamination from the surrounding environment. One such attempt to provide such an assembly is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,233,263 of Northwestern University. The assembly therein provides for the introduction of hydrogen peroxide to the collection reservoir prior to the collection of urine from a patient. The patent teaches that hydrogen peroxide in the reservoir provides an effective inhibition of bacterial growth in the reservoir. However, a drawback and disadvantage of the assembly is that there is a need to constantly attend the drainage assembly to add the liquid hydrogen peroxide prior to each accumulation of a volume of urine. Such constant attention by a nurse is time consuming and nursing time is a valuable commodity on a post-operative, intensive care, or other medical ward.
It would be desirable to provide an assembly which could provide an inhibition or killing of microbes in a collected body fluid, but which would not need to be attended and which would provide such activity for the length of time that such body fluid is to be collected.